PIQUE – Whitten House

This residence sits on a remote 10 acre site comprised of Sage & Juniper trees in Central Oregon. Conceived as two simple cubes in the landscape, one box for sleeping and one for living, the structure offers two distinct means of interaction with the landscape. The sleeping box is low & burrowed into earth, while the living box floats above, hovering just at treetop level. East & South orientations are exploited for views as well as passive solar orientation of the home.

Exterior materials were chosen for durability against the extreme climate and risk for forest fire. All rainwater will be harvested & stored for landscaping or firefighting purposes. The pool provides an additional margin of wildfire safety as a usable body of water on the remote site.

Evacuated tube solar water heaters efficiently provide most of the heating for the home through in-floor radiant tubing. The buildings narrow profile and extensive glazing combined with the regions low humidity allow for passive cooling of the home.

Initially tied to the power grid, the structure has provisions to eventually expand its p.v. array to the point that the home may be taken off grid entirely, and become completely self sufficient, with no other utilities entering or exiting the site.